Re: [-empyre-] Being a Second Life newbie - uncanny interactions ... and strange empty spaces

[Kathy Cleland <kathy.cleland@arts.usyd.edu.au>]

> And to those who hate all of the empty space: I have to say I find it very
> therapeutic. I love flying around with only the sound of the wind to
> accompany me.
Yes, i totally agree! all those empty spaces ... and empty galleries as 
well ;) ... I read an article in a Sydney newspaper that compared the 
experience of exploring SL to wandering around a ghost town or an empty 
theme park - that sums up the experience quite well i think.

Most of my SL experiences (at least those where i log on without already 
having planned to meet up with someone) are very solitary. And that 
background SL wind just seems to underline the eerie ghostly experience 
even more. Of course sometimes being alone is a blessing, for example 
when you're getting changed and trying on new clothes (since i don't 
have my own residence to go to), or when you've accidentally detached 
all of your clothes and you're wandering around naked desperately 
looking for something in your inventory to put on ...

Even when you are in places with other avatars (shops for example) it 
can still be a strangely solitary experience - other avatars often 
completely ignore you or walk right through you (that's when they don't 
proposition you .. or put you in a cage of course ;)

kathy


Turbulence wrote:
> Hi Kathy,
>
> Thanks for this delightful post. I completely agree.
>
> I've been blogging about Second Life on networked_performance since 2004,
> and our organization has commissioned some wonderful SL projects (including
> the Ars Virtua residency program); however, I visit SL very sporadically. I
> tend, then, to have to re-learn everything each time I return. I'm
> constantly running into things and often talk to people with my back to
> them. It's very awkward and somewhat frustrating. I also get very flustered
> when people ask me where I'm from; initially, I wondered why on earth ask
> the question because the answer will most likely be fiction. But, apparently
> people DO want to know ones actual geographic location and tend to accept
> what you tell them as fact.
>
> There are other things that don't make sense to me, for instance, why make
> it so difficult to walk through things? Being forced to walk along a
> designated path seems odd when one can easily fly.
>
> And to those who hate all of the empty space: I have to say I find it very
> therapeutic. I love flying around with only the sound of the wind to
> accompany me.
>
> Regards,
> Jo
>
> Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director
> New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org
> New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856
> Turbulence: http://turbulence.org
> Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog
> Networked_Music_Review: http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review
> Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade 
> New American Radio: http://somewhere.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>   


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